In Search of the Consumer’s Soul

July 4, 2016
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Increasingly as we see technology getting commoditized, the overwhelming feeling that infinite choices bring about, always remain with us. Splice it across price range, functionalities, style or even colour, the market is flooded with too many offerings and the consumer is often spoilt for choices. And yet not very long ago, perhaps less than two decades back, not all middle class homes in India had access to land phones. Mobile was objectified to gauge success and aspirational levels of a nation, which was yet to come to terms with avowed consumerism.

Consumerism. What an interesting word. A world replete with isms of every kind, it is only fair that consumers too have their own. The study of consumer behavior with respect to various static and dynamic parameters is the key to unlock value. Consumer behavioral insights reach us as a statistical reference point. For instance, thus many people out of these many numbers prefer a certain archetype. Impactful, because numbers and graphs speak louder than words, yet it gives a feeling of being soulless. The actual consumer remains faceless, nameless.

At NASSCOM MarTech Confluence 2015, the first of its kind from us, in which we are able to put a face to the seemingly faceless. The session “Live Consumer Perspective: Meet Your Consumers” is about convening a live discussion with discussants (read real customers selected through an intense filtering process). It’s the culmination of a month-long intense exercise which involved shortlisting cities like Mumbai, Pune, Delhi and Bhopal. Our team, met people across a wide spectrum – at offices, malls, educational institutions – and tried to understand their buying patterns / on-line shopping habits and connects etc. with respect to technology. Mobiles, consumer durables and the likes. The cities were selected in a way to strike a balance between large, medium and small. A short video clipping would be played at the conference, as a testimony of sorts on how real consumers behave under imperfect conditions and in a price elastic market, for instance. In addition, there’s a contest on social media as well. Top 6 respondents will be given a chance to be on stage with the likes of Ganesh Natarajan, Global CEO, Zensar Technologies Ltd.; Ipsita Dasgupta, Chief Commercial Officer, GE; and be part of the “panel” which is not really a panel in the traditional sense, but a group of discussants who are willing to share their insights.

A unique opportunity to experience consumer behavior straight from the source and without edits, dilution or re-calibration. Mind you, they would have already undergone the rigorous filtration process, so the value to attendees will be significant.